Magic lantern slides reveal classic fairy tales at Leeds Central Library

The slides would have been projected onto a screen for an audience

Vintage magic lantern slides displaying moments from classic children's stories are on display at Leeds Central Library.

The slides were designed to be used on a magic lantern, a portable device which projected images onto a wall or screen for an audience.

Dating from about 1906, they feature scenes from Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Aladdin.

They are on display as part of an exhibition exploring the fantasy genre.

The vividly coloured, lithographic sets were originally sold in boxes of eight, and came with a script which could be read aloud while the slides were projected during a show.

Rhian Isaac said the slides were "beautiful" and full of vibrancy

Rhian Isaac, special collections librarian at Leeds Central Library, said: "These beautiful slides really do capture the vibrancy and colour that we associate with the classic fairy tales we've all come to know so well, and it's easy to picture them enthralling an audience in the early 20th Century.

"They also demonstrate one of the many ways that fairy tales and fantasy stories have been reinvented and brought to life by different generations."

The exhibition, entitled Fantasy: Realms of Imagination which explores the fantasy genre and its cultural impact and runs until 17 January.